Terriers Football Wins Shunpike Showdown, Earns Playoff Berth

The Rocky Hill Terriers earned a spot in the postseason after ousting the previously undefeated Cromwell/Portland Panthers 28-6 at Pierson Park on the eve of Thanksgiving.

It was the second straight year that the Terriers beat the Panthers in the regular season finale, dubbed the Shunpike Showdown, also winning 9-7 last Thanksgiving.

But unlike last year---when the Berlin player eligibility punishment inadvertently cost the Terriers a playoff spot---the team officially qualified for the playoffs.

“Every since the whole scenario went down last year, this has been a goal of ours to get into the playoffs,” said Rocky Hill head coach Mark Fritz, “These guys have been working for it ever since that happened, so it’s nice to see it pay off for them. I’m so happy for them and you can see it in their faces how happy they are. It’s a great experience.”

Although the scoreboard was lopsided, the playoff-clinching victory wasn’t easy and the final wasn’t indicative of how evenly-match the neighboring teams are.

The mirror-image squads battled to a scoreless tie for the first 21 game minutes until both offenses found pay dirt in the latter minutes of the first half.

The Terriers touchdown came at the 2:17 mark of the second quarter. Facing a 3rd and 15 from the 30-yard line, junior quarterback Danny Cavallaro looked off the safety to his left before throwing a perfectly placed dart to the right corner of the end zone, which was hauled down by Matt Osgood.

Cromwell quickly countered when Kristian Sapp scored on a 10-yard sweep with under a minute to play in the half. Sapp’s touchdown was set up by a 59-yard sprint from Jon Siena.

With the score 7-6 at the break, the game seemed destined for an ending similar to a year ago when Rocky Hill won on a safety late in the fourth quarter.

However unlike last year, Wednesday’s game was decided on a special team’s shift in the third quarter.

Midway through the quarter, Rocky Hill’s Dante Baker blocked a punt, which was scooped up by Will White at the 23-yard line. Two plays after the block, Cavallaro hooked up with Grant Nieves on a 22-yard scoring strike and the floodgates opened.

“We actually never go for blocks. We weren’t trying to block it there, but it was just a great effort play,” said Fritz, “That was just a great player, making a great play in a big game. It was a huge momentum boost for our guys.”

Nieves added another touchdown on the following drive when the senior busted through the heart of the Panthers defense and high stepped the final 40 yards, increasing the road team’s lead to 21-6.

Joe Catania put the finishing touches on the victory early in the fourth quarter when he found a seam down the right sidelines for a 55-yard scoring dash.

Nieves and Catania had to grind out yards in the first two quarters, but things opened up in the second half and the duo combined for 325 rushing yards thanks to the long scoring runs and an exceptional effort from the team’s workhorse offensive line.

“Without the guys up front we can’t get a push at all. If we can get that push we can run the football downfield, that’s how Rocky Hill football always is,” said Catania, who got most of his yards after initial contact, “They’re a very good team. They’re brutal and they hit very hard, so coming into this game I knew I had to run my hardest.”

Captain Damon Lonero is one of the cogs up front that helped pave the way for the two backs.

“It was a tough game. The first half wasn’t going so well and we were struggling on offense, but we were finally able to move the ball. It feels great,” said Lonero, who is also the team’s kicker and made all four of his extra points.

The do-it-all senior also helped anchor the team’s defensive line, which limited the high-powered Panthers offense to a single score.
Cromwell/Portland entered the game averaging 41 points per game, but was held to their lowest point total since the finale last Thanksgiving.

“Our front seven did a great job. They took the challenge personally. We reminded them all week what they were averaging and they really did a great job,” added Fritz, “They did what we asked them to do and they played fast and aggressive. We relied on everyone to do their job and it really showed out there tonight.”

The home Panthers, who were without starting quarterback Bryce Karstetter, relied heavily on their normally potent ground game, which was held well below their season average.

Replacement signal caller Liam Coleman completed a pair of passes downfield early in the second half, but defensive captain Ricky Montalvo sacked him twice and Rocky Hill’s pass defense came up with a handful of drive-killing plays on the cold evening.

Nieves and Hunter Held each intercepted passes and Osgood, White, and Jack Hansen combined to deflected several passes.

“We put them in tough spots, we asked them to stop the run while playing the pass. They’re great athletes, so they’re playing in space a lot, which means they’re making one-on-one tackles or playing man coverage. They stepped up to the challenge,” Fritz said of the team’s secondary, “They made a lot of pass breakups tonight and they made a lot tackles tonight. It really helps our defense play fast and confident when they're doing those types of things.”

Despite the loss, Cromwell also qualified for the Class S postseason after finished the regular season with an identical 9-1 record.

It was a completely different story from a year ago, when both teams finished 8-2 and each missed out on the dance.

Cromwell/Portland was in the postseason regardless of the results Wednesday night. Rocky Hill could have lost and still gotten in with some help, but the motivated bunch didn’t want to leave it up to chance.

“This year we played every game with a chip on our shoulder,” added Catania, “We knew every game counts, no matter who we were playing. Everybody knew what we had to do.”

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Wethersfield Wins Thriller over Newington

Senior Austin Stefano nailed a 19-yard field goal in the final seconds as Wethersfield edged Newington 20-19.

Wide receiver Tevin Walker set up the game-winning field goal when he made a spectacular one-handed catch on 4th and 18 to extend the drive.

It was the fourth straight season that Wethersfield has defeated their rival and the victory was the Eagles second in a row, finishing the season with a record of 5-5. 

The loss ended an up and down season for Newington, who lost their final three games to finish a 3-7 campaign. The Indians crowning moment of the season was upsetting Middletown 27-24 back on Oct 28.

The team will lose leading tackler Luke Pappalardo, multidimensional quarterback Isaac Ortiz, leading receiver Jared Simmons, and defensive studs Nate Alleyne and Matthew McKinnon to graduation.

Leading rusher Aveontae Frazier, along with Roberto Sanchez, Brandon Kamansky, and Connor Brennan will all be returning next season.
 
Middletown Falls to Windsor in Finale

Middletown lost in heartbreaking fashion last Wednesday night, falling to undefeated Windsor 21-17.

It was team’s sixth straight loss to Warriors of Windsor, dating back to 2009.

The Blue Dragons drove for the potential game-winning score, but quarterback Tyshaun James was stopped just short of the goal line on fourth down. 

James, who finished with 149 yards on the ground, ran for two first-half scores and Middletown led 17-9 at the break, but Windsor scored the games final dozen points, including the go-ahead score on a 90-yard fumble return.

Despite the loss, Middletown (8-2) qualified for the Class L playoffs.